Author's notes: (Important!) (clears her throat) Okay, people. The delay was caused by the constant rewriting of this chapter – it was rewritten almost five times, which gets it a silver medal in the "Most rewritten chapter" competition, following the clear winner, which happens to be the Prologue – that was rewritten at least eight times before I settled for what you can read now. Most of the early version (which was beginning on Coruscant when Revan tries to convince the Council… you know about what) was moved to the later part of the fic. The release date of this chapter was originally chosen to honor the last day of waiting for KotOR II - December 5th – the day before the day when the Xbox version of KotOR II will be released. And I've just received word that both the Xbox console and the game itself will be my Christmas present. I'm so happy!

Anyway, before you kill me because of the dream and reaction to it, please note that it was one of the few original ideas that were not yet posted (or even considered, as far as I'm concerned) and I really liked this idea of why everyone's favorite Sith chick turned to the DS. To explain a bit – Revan falls to the Dark Side because she's afraid that this might hold her back / distract her from her goals / is not sure whether it is mutual. It's what would turn me to the DS, combined with the Star Forge's corrupting power, Korriban´s dark catacombs and the fact that Mandalorians killed my family and destroyed my home – all this happens to her, too. The destruction and killing – check. This – check. So, Korriban and SF, be prepared for Revan!

And the quotation – you'll understand it once you read the first part of the chapter.

Dark Lord Daishi – excellent. You've made your first step into a larger world…

X X X

Humor is also a way of saying something serious.

T. S. Eliot

X X X

Chapter 17 – Dragon Heart

X X X X

The dream was so vivid… it couldn't be anything but a dream, because she felt another incorporeal presence nearby, watching the entire scene.

She was sitting in a medbay, though it certainly wasn't on the Ebon Hawk. Rather, it seemed to be of Republic design (despite the clinical atmosphere), which was fitting for her flagship. Mere hours have passed since her blade cut down the greatest of the Mandalorians… the battle was fierce, but she refused to use much of her Force powers, giving him the illusion of hope. During the war, she learned that it was so much more satisfying to give an enemy hope and then see it fade. But the fight was honorable and Mandalore didn't give up even when he saw he was fighting a lost battle… he died fighting her, the sword crafted specially for this fight piercing his heart. Now, finally, the war was over.

The Republic had prevailed. Mandalorians surrendered and were now scattered and leaderless. Was it a dream come true? Perhaps. But she felt no relief, no peace. Only smugness, which disturbed her. Vengeance was sated. Her superiority was obvious.

Revan raised her gaze as the medbay doors opened. A smile crossed her face as Malak entered, his aura practically beaming at her with pride and happiness.

"The news is spreading like wildfire – every soldier in the fleet is celebrating the victory." He informed her, though it was slightly unnecessary.

"Then what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be accepting congratulations? You were the one who charged head-fist into the battle. Again." Revan noted, smirking.

"I had to check up on you. I always said you were clumsy, Revan – now look at you." He said, also smirking slightly.

Although she won the fight, Revan didn't come out completely uninjured. Her cortosis weaved robes deflected some of the damage, but a long gash still remained along right arm where her opponent managed to land his single hit with a vibroblade. Fortunately none of the major blood vessels were cut, but the injury looked worse than it in reality was. After the battle, there wasn't much time to heal it, so Revan had only few seconds to aftermath of use a mild Force Heal on the worst of her injuries. Once she returned to her ship, the medbots dealt with most of the cut, yet it was still questionable whether it would leave a scar.

"Yeah, like you would have done better." Revan muttered, though not without sarcasm.

"I could have healed it better. I'm better with the defensive and passive powers, you know. That's essential to advanced lightsaber combat." He noted, though to Revan´s cynical ears, it sounded as if someone was quoting "Jedi Textbook, vol. 1".

"Never thought you'd be the one giving me a lecture, Malak." Revan noted, in a 'I-can-see-you-on-the-Jedi-Council-right-now' tone. He pulled a face at that, as they both always did when someone suggested the possibility of either of them being chosen for the High Council. The mere thought of that seemed both ridiculous and hilarious to both of them, especially after all the times Vrook lectured them about how reckless, arrogant, headstrong and hot-headed they are, that they would never become Jedi with the kind of attitude they showed so often, etc., etc., etc.

Not that they wanted to be on any kind of Council, anyway - they would have to give up their superior pranks, so the thought of having to be "an example" to all the other potential marauders certainly repulsed them.

"Kidding aside. Seriously." He added when Revan arched an eyebrow at that. "Let me have a look at that cut. Those pathetic medbots are useless when it comes to healing scars."

"How come I get the feeling this is just a ploy to make me take my shirt off?" She found the thought amusing, actually, since their relationship was more of a brother-sister friendship. He blushed slightly at the blunt joke.

Still… "Ah, my evil master plan has been revealed." he noted with mock disappointment.

Though she shook her head in slight frustration and major amusement, Revan knew he meant well. He was, in truth, really the more skilled healer, even if she would never admit it out loud. Her skills were also very well honed, but she never had the need to heal a wound that would leave her a scar, since her opponents never got past her defenses before. Like she often said – you lose skills when you don't use them. But the thought that if they were to duel only with Force powers, he would be either spinning in the air or frozen in a Stasis Field within about two seconds cheered her up.

With a final faint smirk, she took off the storm gray tunic she wore, revealing thick bandages on her right arm (which were there only because the medbot wasn't programmed to trust Force Heal and insisted on wearing them) and a jet-black sleeveless top that was carefully hidden when she wore the upper tunic. Underneath the bandages, most of her arm was wrapped in a hygienic cloth to help the kolto work its way into her system without the fear of infection. She carefully unwrapped her arm, gritting her teeth slightly because of a brief flash of pain. There was dried blood near the wound – kolto is a miracle healing substance, but it takes some time for it to work completely. While the wound seemed bad, it was more irritating than painful. The fact that the medbot checked it several times and injected an antidote serum in case the wound was poisoned was also not pleasing – while kolto was painless, the antidote gave her the distinct feeling that her blood was on fire.

"How did he land such a hit?" Malak asked after examining her arm carefully. "You're lucky he didn't slice your arm in half."

"That wasn't him. One of the bastards charged at me when I was making my way to the battleground. His own commander shot him for that dishonor, but it took me by surprise and I didn't react fast enough to block the other end of the double-blade." Revan explained, wincing slightly when he traced the wound with his fingers.

But his touch was soothing and she tried hard to push away the flicker of emotion she felt once again. Not that it was necessary. Malak was too focused on healing the wound, the fact she actually allowed him to touch her for more than a few seconds without killing him or making a sarcastic remark that would make a Hutt blush AND restraining himself from grinning like an idiot because of it.

She could feel the Force flow through him, healing her burned skin. Any kind of physical pain she felt evaporated soon. Since the cut was partially healed by the kolto, the process took less time then it normally would. After a few minutes, during which time they both remained silent, watching the healing process, Revan examined her skin. It seemed as if it has never been bruised before, smooth and ivory colored.

She smiled at that, though the smile was meant for him. "So what reward do you want for this help?"

"I assume a kiss is too much to ask for?" he asked innocently, though it was more of a comeback to her sarcasm than a real request.

She caught that minor fact and tapped into the Force, throwing the chair he was sitting on off balance. That, of course, resulted in him being quickly introduced to the deck plating. Revan laughed – just the look on his face was hilarious.

"Remind me not to ask anything of you ever again." He grumbled as she helped him off the ground, dusting his robes.

Revan sniggered. "You get what you give, you know. We're even now. But if you insist…" she walked up to him, stood up to the tips of her toes, and kissed his cheek lightly. For a few seconds, a stunned silence followed. Revan smiled, restraining her laughter from the surprised look on his face and swallowed the remark that he could now rival a Rodian when it came to eye size. "Thanks, Malak. For everything you did to help me in this war."

After this, his lips also curled into a faint smile. "You're welcome."

X X X

Her eyes opened at the sound of stirring from the only other occupied bunk in the room. Revan forced herself to get up, even though she would prefer a few more minutes in bed. Bastila was obviously about to bolt out of her bed, though she had to be commented for being careful not to disturb the other woman's sleep, but stopped short when she saw Revan was awake. She winced, because the look in Revan´s eyes told her everything. Before she had a chance to even open her mouth to try to explain, Revan´s hand was curled into a fist, lifting Bastila from the ground with an invincible force. The Jedi grabbed her own throat, and weakly attempted to pry the grip open, both mentally and physically.

No effect.

"I should crush you where you stand, Jedi." Revan coldly hissed, a greater display of emotion she had never showed the Jedi. "Try barging into my memories once more and I swear you'll be begging for death before I'm done with you." And she let the Jedi drop unceremoniously on her backside.

"I see." Bastila snapped, getting up, "I didn't mean to upset you, but I suppose it was inevitable. I just thought… well, I saw your case file before all this, but nothing beyond that. I just wanted to know something more about you, given our relationship."

"You could have asked very politely and I might have told you something. Learn the definition of privacy."

Bastila blinked. "I… didn't think you would tell me." she admitted. "I've been watching you. You are so… cold and distant."

"That's what the Jedi want, don't they?"

"A Jedi must keep her distance, true, but also have compassion and understanding for those in need." Bastila explained patiently. "You had that, once. I saw that much."

Revan looked at her, a venomous, cold glare. The Jedi was trying to poke her nose where it certainly didn't belong. "Do you see me poking into your personal affairs?"

"I never thought it would interest you." The Jedi answered, in all truth.

"Well since you're poking into my life, I'll be poking into yours, Jedi. Tell me about yourself, or I'll find out using your method my way." It took Bastila a few seconds to understand what she meant by that.

"I was found to be strong with the Force at a young age, as most Padawans are." Bastila explained, "As a girl I was given to the Order to be trained. When I joined the Order I left my family on Talravin, as all Padawans do. My family is still there, the last that I heard. I have had little contact with them, as it is discouraged. I was only a little girl when I left my family, but I still remember my father fondly. He was kind and gentle and doted on me. My mother, however, was different. She pushed my father into treasure hunting. I spent all my young life on ships traveling from one false lead to the next. She whittled away my father's entire fortune, and I hated her for it. I think she was relieved to give me to the Jedi, but my father was heartbroken."

"The usual story." Revan muttered. Bastila shot her a glare, but didn't retort, probably because she couldn't think of a good comeback.

Revan took a deep breath. She needed to regain control. Vengeance and violent outbursts could wait. She couldn't afford to stray from her plan. Silently, slowly, she recited the Jedi Code. To appease the Jedi, to silence her own anger, which she could sense flowing through her, surrounding her like a dark cloud. Cold. Distant. To feel only what she needed to feel. No peace. Passion. Carefully, she pushed it into the little locked box in her mind where she hid from the universe, from herself, her unwanted emotions. Sealed off.

But Bastila seized the brief opening of Revan´s soul, no matter how accidentally, and for a single moment, she saw what no one was allowed to see ever before, ever again.

Sadness. Deeper than any emotion she could imagine. Passion, ignorance, emotion, chaos… death. The war. She saw worlds fall right before her eyes. People dying. The fearful, the weak, the strong, the corrupt… the innocent. All were alike when they faced death. The line between good and evil was slowly beginning to fade, until it was no more than a blur.

Destruction. She walked through lifeless streets, saw wreckage and corpses. Smoke as if after and explosion and fire still burning. Tears filled Bastila´s eyes when she saw battles against the Mandalorians, the blood that was spilled. The Code, the philosophy, the wisdom… It could never work outside the enclaves. All she was led to believe was a lie.

Bitterness. She saw that all things end. Even those who seem too strong to be conquered fall. Why is it so? One by one, her beliefs fell to the ashes. She was no more than a shadow. And shadow surrounded her, taking form of black robes, her cape flowing behind her, the white angel's wings that turned black from the sudden realizations, as her soul darkened from what she saw, felt, did. She was holding a flame red lightsaber in her dark gloves, twirling it… her most prized possession.

Love. As great as her grief, a reason to go on, to continue fighting. And yet the bane of her existence. She was in pain, greater pain than any Sith torture could create. Fire. Love and hatred, intertwined. And a thick wall of ice, sealing them away.

Bastila was violently sealed off from Revan´s mind. Her gaze fell on the coldness of Revan´s icy eyes. But for the first time, she could see through the ice. She didn't look away.

"You love him." Bastila finally said, barely above a whisper. Sudden panic flashed through the icy orbs she was facing. A spark of unhidden fear, fading as quickly as it was lit. Revan forced herself to look away, closing her eyes. The ice couldn't melt now. It mustn't.

But Bastila didn't need a response. The answer, as insane as it seemed to her, was obvious. Twice she opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"Once upon a time." Revan voice was cold, but slightly shaking. "Be proud of yourself, Jedi. You're the first person to ever find out. But I, at least, have the strength to admit it." Foolishness. Weakness. Unnecessary. Unwanted.

"I­… I know emotional attachments are dangerous, but this­… this shows you still have some humanity left." Bastila said hopefully.

"Humanity…" Revan repeated. Her tone, like her eyes, was distant. "I have forgotten the meaning of that word."

"You can remember. Remember how you helped us all. Was it not worth the effort?"

"To inspire loyalty means to aid others. And I would oppose the teachings of Mandalore, had I refused to help comrades in arms. It was a matter of honor, not humanity, Bastila."

The Jedi flinched at the name. Revan had always called her ´Jedi´ or something similar, never her name. Perhaps she felt that now that she unwillingly shared her fears with her, their Force bond became stronger, a real relationship between two Force Sensitives.

"He shed my honor by denying me the chance to prove that I am the Master. If only for that, he must die. There can be no mercy." Revan coldly noted. "My personal feelings have nothing to do with that.

"Forgiveness requires even greater strength than vengeance."

Revan glared at her. Without loathing… without anger. Seemingly. "You want him dead, Jedi." That wasn't a question. "I can see into your heart. Is that why you saved me on my flagship? Drawn to the darkness that could expand your own?"

"N-no! I… I mean I…" Revan raised a hand to silence her.

"That is understandable." If the situation were different, she'd be incredibly satisfied with the confirmation of her initial theory. "You have no idea of the power of the Dark Side, so you wanted a taste of it for yourself. You could never understand why we did those things."

"I don't, and I hope I never do." Bastila paused. "I… I admit I'm drawn to you. Sometimes I find the sheer strength of your power almost overwhelming. You are much stronger than I am, and I know better than tell myself otherwise. But I won't fall to the Dark Side!"

"Overconfidence. You're so convinced that you're right, even if you don't understand the lines you quote. Perhaps you even remember the page of the textbook you're quoting?"

Bastila opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it again. For once, she was speechless. "I'm glad you seem to get my meaning."

"Why do you keep helping me?" The word 'Revan' echoed through her mind. They have agreed before the Hawk left Dantooine that her name or past would not be mentioned if not necessary.

"Helping? I'm just showing you that I know your weakness, like you now know mine. I've been hiding it for very long. But soon…" She trailed off. Her eyes fell to the floor.

Bastila shook her head. "I still cannot believe you could love someone like him."

"I cannot believe you could endure all of Vrook´s lectures without going insane. Wait, scratch the last part."

"Thank you." Bastila muttered.

"Love is blind and loving alone means being vulnerable. So my only concern is how to get rid of this particular emotion, whatever you call it." Revan noted dismissively. The conversation was over, as far as she was concerned. Any future references to this moment would probably lead to a heavy wipe of Bastila´s memory. "We will never speak of this again."

"I just wanted to know you better. To talk."

"I… appreciate that. Just… those days are gone. Even I cannot resurrect them."

Bastila tried to smile, but found that she couldn't. She felt the pain, the result of the ice breaking as Revan left to prepare for the journey to the desert.

X X X

The Eastern Dune sea was very surprisingly a desert as far as the eye could see. Revan hoped to leave this planet as soon as they get the Star Map they were searching for. The only challenge that she knew awaited her was to defeat the krayt dragon in the cave as Iziz informed her before he departed. These dragons seemed too lazy to make their own lairs, so they moved into any vacant cave they found. It was really going to be a desert hunt and that was why she took Canderous with her – she knew he wouldn't want to miss such a good fight.

For some unknown reasons, Bastila insisted that she would come with them once again. Thus the Jedi tagged along, only to run into a golden Twi´lek woman, who appeared to have recognized her.

"Excuse me, dear, I know it has been a long time, but aren't you Bastila, Helena's little girl? Yes, you are – I can see it in your eyes! My, how you've grown!"


"I am Bastila, yes." Bastila dryly replied. "I take it you know my mother?"

"Oh, yes." The woman nodded. "My name is Malare. I worked for your father during his mining expeditions. Your mother showed me holos of you before…well, you left. Such a pretty little girl you were."

"Could you get to the point, miss? As you can see, we're in quite a hurry."

"Don't be rude, Bastila." Revan commented, only to see the sour look the Padawan gave her for that.

"Oh, I didn't mean to take up your time." Malare apologized. "I just wanted to ask you whether your mother's condition has improved."

"My mother's condition?"

The Twi´lek seemed stunned, "You mean…you mean you don't know? Your mother is very ill, Bastila. The last time I saw her, she was desperate to find you! I was sure that she did."

"Did you see my father?" Bastila quickly asked, slightly shocked.


To her great disappointment, Malare shook her head, "No, dear, I haven't seen him."

"I see. Do you remember where you saw her?"

"Of course. She's here on Tatooine, dear. She's been here for some time already, I'd suggest you look in the cantina."

"Thank you." Malare nodded and left, disappearing once again in the crowd. The stunned look on Bastila´s face was quite amusing.

"What is this about, Jedi?" Revan asked.

"Strange. It seems that my mother has been looking for me. Should we have time, could we look for her in that cantina?"

"If you think it's worth our time." Revan said with a shrug.

"It's important enough that she was attempting to seek me out. Perhaps something about father…part of me would rather not like to see her at all…but if she's really sick…well, we shall see."

Revan thought it might be a good idea to keep Canderous out of this. "You don't have to go, Canderous." she noted.

"And miss the fun of seeing Princess reunited with her mother? Not a chance, Denali." Revan shook her head, understanding the point. Fortunately, Bastila was lost in thought and didn't listen to them very much.

As they were passing the Czerka office, a Duros lashed out at Revan. "That human woman…Helena…you! Are all of your species so intolerant to others?" he snapped.

Revan raised her eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"


"You should be sorry for sharing a species with that…thing! I swear, 'Helena' must be your word for 'pit rancor'." The emphasis was almost funny.

"You seem pretty hateful towards other species."

"You don't understand! She stormed into the cantina as if she wasn't breathing the same air we were. You'd think she thought she was the Queen of the planet! No offense, but your companion here looks especially like her." he said, nodding in Bastila´s direction.

"That messenger said that my mother was somewhere around here. Is she still there?" Bastila asked. The Duros seemed slightly humored by this, even if he was snappish.


"Human, you couldn't miss her if you tried! If that woman is your mother, you have my sympathies..."

"We should try to find her. I doubt she wants to be kept waiting." Bastila noted.


"You're actually trying to find her?" The Duros shook his head in disbelief. "You humans, you're all out of your minds!" And he walked away.

Canderous looked at Revan, giving her the I-told-you glance. The party reached the cantina and entered. The Mandalorian tapped Revan´s shoulder to show her that he's going to talk to the barkeeper. She nodded and followed Bastila to a woman standing in the corner. The woman was about forty, dressed in a simple tunic, common among the moisture farmers on Tatooine. It struck Revan how just much the face reminded her of Bastila´s. The Jedi slowly approached to woman, with obvious displeasure to see her.

"Yes? I'm sorry, do I know you?" even the voice was familiar.

"I'm here, Mother. Or don't you recognize me?" Bastila asked in a tired voice. Helena seemed very irritated by her daughter's behavior.

"What do you expect when I haven't as much as a picture of you since you left! Do you know how long I've been trying to find you?" Helena asked, as if it was Bastila´s fault for not being at hand when she needed assistance.

"You knew very well that communication would be impossible once I joined the Order." The forced calm in Bastila´s voice was more than obvious. "So, why did you summon me? Where's father?"

Helena frowned, " Then you haven't heard. I should have known.

"Has something happened to him? Are you going to tell me or not?" Bastila demanded.

"Your Father is dead, Bastila." Helena said bluntly, using bitterness as a shield, "That is part of the reason why I was looking for you."

"Dead? What did you do to him?!" Bastila demanded, horrified. Helena gritted her teeth.

"Isn't this a lovely reunion? Already she is flinging insults at me! You there," Helena snapped at Revan. "You're one of her friends. Tell me, do you talk to your mother this way?"

Revan´s eyes narrowed slightly. "My mother is long dead, if you must know."

Helena arched an eyebrow, "Is that so? Well, I'll be joining her soon enough."

"Leave her out of this, Mother." Bastila commanded, "Now explain yourself. You can start by telling me what you did to father."

"I never realized Jedi were so spiteful." Helena snapped, "You want me to tell you I brought your father here for an expedition, do you? You want to blame me for his death? You never accepted that your father loved going on his treasure hunts, leaving you alone with me. I was always to blame for everything, what else is new? So yes, fine. I brought your father here to look for krayt dragon pearls he took an expedition into the desert and he died."

"How can you be sure? Father is an experienced…"

Helena interrupted before Bastila could start yelling at her, blaming her for what happened to her father. "Do you think I would look for you if I wasn't sure? They were attacked by a krayt dragon and one of the guides fled the battle. He saw your father killed."

"I… see." The distant tone faded, replaced by coolness. "So what do you want from me? Credits?"

"Don't be insulting. I want you to use those senses of yours. I want you to find him. I want you to bring back his holocron." Helena snapped.

"Why? So you can sell it?" Bastila sniped.

"Is it too much to ask that I have something to remember your father by? Of course it is, isn't it? You couldn't be bothered." Helena said dramatically.

The look on Bastila´s face was actually amusing. The anger within her was becoming stronger by the minute. She didn't seem to be bothered with that, although she occasionally reminded herself to remain calm. The cold and bitter tone couldn't be gone from her voice. Her father was dead… she was alone. It left a hurt inside, a terrible pain.

"I was told you were sick, mother. Are you actually dying, or is this just a melodrama for my benefit?" Bastila wearily asked.

"Such…sweet things of you to say." Helena noted.

"We're on an important mission, Mother. Ask Alexa here if you don't believe me."

"Nice of you to introduce us, Bastila." Revan interrupted their fight by holding out a hand to Helena. "I am Alexa Denali, pleased to meet you, Mrs. Shan."

The formal tone was neutral enough to hide the boredom behind it, so Helena shook Revan´s hand without any qualms, smiling (or smiling forcibly, at least), before regaining her frown.

"Likewise. Now, could you tell Bastila to do as I say?"

This little complication was most irritating and quite frankly, Revan hoped the two would just argue some more and then part ways (obviously for both their benefits). And krayt dragon hunting? Someone was either very brave or very foolish. Slaying that kind of beast would be a challenge for many, though for her, it would be just the average everyday Force Kill with a bit of extra strength and care as to prevent the pearls from being damaged. Then, she would just proudly collect her reward – the famed krayt dragon pearls, a hunter's most prized trophy. But hunting down some rusty old holocron? She wanted to befriend the brat… but then again, not that much. Certainly not enough to wander around the desert aimlessly. That would be a deathtrap.

"Look, I'm sure this is important to you, but we don't have time for this." Revan noted, in the most polite convincing tone she could muster at the present moment, "What remains would there be? Krayt dragons are predators, they don't care what they eat as long as it's fat and tasty."

"She is correct, mother." Bastila said, gazing at her boots for a moment. When she looked back at Helena, there was some coolness in her that didn't exist a second ago.

"So that's the way it is, is it?" Helena asked, tired. Revan caught the flash of sadness in her eyes, though she doubted Bastila noticed it. The woman was hurt by her daughter's behavior.

"All that Jedi training and you haven't learned a thing."

"On the contrary, I've learned much." Bastila hissed, "I've learned, for instance, when it is best to walk away from a situation that can lead only to conflict."

Helena snorted, "And here I though we could sort things out. Obviously, I was wrong."

"Sort things out?" Bastila raised her eyebrows, "Just how do you think we could sort things out, mother? We parted ways long ago – this encounter was not a pleasant surprise for me."

"You loved your father, Bastila." Helena noted coldly, "And that holocron is all that remains of him. Is he dead in your mind as well?"

"No! I mean I… I don't know what chances I have… but if I have time, I might search for it."

Helena almost smirked, "I believe your father went to the Eastern Dune Sea. Do please hurry."

With that she returned to her drink. Bastila sighed in frustration and quickly went to get a drink herself, ignoring Revan, who just rolled her eyes and went to the bar.

"Told you it would be interesting." Canderous remarked, a bit more brightly than before, when she took a seat next to him and ordered a Corellian ale. It couldn't be compared with the Tarisian product, but most people could handle it, as opposed to the original drink. Only Mandalorians and Tarisians wouldn't pass out from the Tarisian ale's legendary kick.

"Found anything interesting here?"

"Yeah." He showed her the vibroblade he was examining, "Kraat Blood Blade. You hardly find a better vibrosword. Otherwise, some grenades and supplies."

Revan grasped the sword in both hands, swinging it elaborately, just to show-off. "We'll take it." she said, giving the barkeeper the credits Mission brought her from her little Pazaak swooping through the cantinas.

"So, who's gonna get it?" Canderous asked.

"I'll give it to you for safekeeping. Once we return to the Hawk, I'll give it to the kid."

"The Twi´lek seems to be your pet right now." Canderous remarked.

"For a kid, she isn't that bad. Anyway, she brought in the credits, so it's a present for her. Don't worry – Suvam probably got some new Baragwin equipment and I heard that those assault blades are great. But they sell high-quality Sith-issue swords on Korriban, if the Baragwin stuff will be too expensive."

"That's going to cost a fortune."

She raised an eyebrow. "And I thought you've seen me race." Bastila rejoined them and they left for the city gates.

Things became even interesting when they left the cantina, approaching the city gates.

"So, Bastila, I heard a rumor that the Vulkars captured you without much of a struggle." Canderous said, snidely, "It must be embarrassing to be bested by a handful of street thugs."

"There were extenuating circumstances." Bastila hissed at him, "And I can assure you it took far more than a handful of Vulkars to subdue me."

Revan was a few steps ahead of them. " I'm sure there were twenty of them. No, wait, fifty! No, a hundred!" she said, daring the Jedi to snap something back. It didn't help the situation much and Revan decided not to interfere until they really began fighting.

Canderous shrugged. "Whatever you say. All I know is that if we had more Jedi like Bastila fighting against us in the Mandalorian Wars, my side might not have lost." he said, pointedly ignorant of the vicious glare Bastila was giving him.

"Not with Revan at the helm of the Republic forces." Bastila glared at Revan as she pointed this out, though she kept her gaze fixed on their route.

"Probably, Denali." Canderous admitted. "But if Revan had been a Mandalorian, nothing in the galaxy would be able to stop us!"

"Bold talk from a broken-down mercenary who was serving at Davik's heel." Bastila hissed, an obvious distraction, "I'd call you his pet kath hound, but they have enough loyalty not to turn on their masters."

Canderous laughed, "Insults? Maybe if your Master had trained your lightsaber to be as quick as your tongue you could have escaped those Vulkars, you spoiled little Jedi princess!"

Revan bit her lip, knowing that the Jedi wouldn't be able to restrain herself now.


"I was not spoiled!" Bastila snapped, predictably, "I was given the same training as everyone else in the Order! You are nothing but a..." and then she realized it. "No. I must not do this. There is no emotion; there is peace."

"That's the problem with you Jedi." Canderous said, rolling his eyes, "Always chanting about peace and control, never up for a good fight. Well, except for Revan, I guess."

"Enough, Mandalorian." Bastila snapped, "I won't rise to your bait any more. The game is over." she turned, stalking ahead of them through Anchorhead. She rented them swoop bikes, as all the speeders were gone.

The vast desert was mostly unexplored, but Revan knew where to search for the Star Map. Last time she had to do a throughout search to find the cave – it had to be a place strong with the Dark Side of the Force. The Eastern Dune Sea was really a perfect resemblance of the other parts of the desert, except for the fact that some lone dewbacks wandered around them occasionally. There was a rather large cave-life opening on a nearby sand dune. It was dug out purposefully.

Revan saw two figures standing in front of the cave from the distance. She stopped her swoop bike (which took a while, considering the fact the speeds she usually rode were more than enough to scare the hell out of the best swoop champions), wanting to see whether they were friendly to them or not – Malak could have sent troops to block her path now that he knew she was alive.

But when one of the figures entered the cave with a blaster in hand, shouting, "I'm tired of waiting, Komad! How big can this dragon of yours be? I'm going in!", so Revan figured that it has to be a hunter from Anchorhead, an incredibly foolish one, who underestimated the power of the krayt dragon. A loud scream was heard and those that were watching knew that the hunter had a quick, fearful and rather gruesome death.

Revan´s robes swished in the wind and the remaining hunter turned to her. It was a Twi´lek, most probably the one Iziz told her about. She thought she saw him in Fazza´s lounge somewhere.

"Greetings, human. I believe I saw you in Anchorhead. I thought I'd see you on the Dunes. You look like a hunter."

"Yes, yes I am. I'm Alexa Denali. I believe you have problems with a rather massive krayt dragon, correct?" she asked, already knowing the answer. The Twi´lek nodded.

"Indeed. It is far larger than any other average dragon. My name is Komad Fortuna. I was hoping that you could help me. Should you refuse, I will have to try alone."

Revan smirked, "So how can we help you kill the dragon?"

"We must bait the great beast out of hiding and ambush him swiftly. There is no room to engage him in the lair, and his hide will repel blaster fire." Komad explained. "I have placed mines around the mouth of the cave. We must coax him out, but this is the end of his season of hibernation. It will take much to rouse him."


"What sort of bait were you thinking of?"

"The food of a beast this size is almost exclusively banthas... and foolish hunters, if we are not careful. To lure him out we must lure his food to tempt him."

"Luring banthas? Too much errand running. I'm sick of it." And she immediately began walking to the cave, ignoring the horrified yells of Komad and Bastila. Canderous seemed quite oblivious to the fact she was seemingly walking to her death.

The krayt dragon was resting on the cave floor, head on its enormous paws, tail curled behind it. It was a big and lazy creature, but its senses were good enough to hear the footsteps on the sand. It opened one eye, its gaze resting on Revan, who stood just about a dozen feet from the cave. With a roar, the dragon picked itself up and almost slouched to the mouth of the cave. Revan closed her eyes, sensing the area around her through the Force. There was very little life around her and no distractions at all. She raised an arm, pointing it at the dragon's throat as it approached her. A second later, the dragon stopped. Its head began twitching, but the throat remained fixed on the spot. If someone was close enough, they would be able to see that the skin was slightly stretched around its neck, as if a collar was placed there, an uncomfortable and tight one. The dragon was choking.

Revan frowned, even though her eyes remained closed. She was forcing herself, second by second to hold the grip as tight as she could. It seemed like an eternity, though in truth, it was only a few seconds. The dragon roared, an empty, dying sound. And it collapsed in the middle of the cave.

She felt exhausted. Her knees were failing her. Revan sat down on the burning sand, panting as the others sprinted to her.

"What were you thinking?! You could have gotten yourself killed!" Bastila shouted, earning a rude hand gesture from Revan. "This is not a matter to joke about!"

"Still alive, Denali?" Revan nodded, panting, "Neat trick, then. I'm beginning to understand why you beat us in the war." Canderous remarked.

Komad was the most stunned of all of them, "You have killed it… how?"

"A touch of the Force is not always pleasant… especially when aimed at your throat." Revan explained, still panting.

"Fascinating…then perhaps you should be the one to collect the pearls in its throat. This is your victory, human." Komad remarked, without jealousy "Thank you for your help here today. I'm unsure what you did, but you have done this planet a great service. I am sure we will meet again."

They watched the Twi´lek disappear behind the sand dunes while Canderous took out a dagger and went to collect the famed krayt dragon pearls – he returned with two, both as big as a lightsaber crystal. Meanwhile Revan, recovering, entered the dark cave, carefully avoiding the chewed corpses than were occasionally lying on the ground. As she reached the other side of the cave, a tattered equipment pack caught her eye.

Something inside it was making a soft buzzing sound. Bastila saw it too and when she picked it up, her sad expression was all that Revan needed to see to know that this was Bastila´s father's holocron. Leaving the Jedi behind, she turned to the Star Map, gently tracing the black ornaments with her fingers, finally pressing a button. She paid no attention to the strange alien statues that were surrounding it. The Map slowly began to open as Revan gazed at it. Light filled the sunless cave and suddenly, a holographic image of the galaxy emerged from a floating orb. New information was loaded to her datapad. But there was still much to be done.

"Anybody else get the feeling that finding this Star Map in the back of a krayt dragon's cave is more than just a coincidence?"

"The Star Map is an artifact of the Dark Side. The krayt dragon was probably drawn to its dark power, only to be enslaved by it." Bastila answered Canderous´s question. "Come, we should leave this place. There is nothing more for us to see here."

The sunlight outside the cave was very bright, almost blinding as they walked towards it, but the krayt dragon's remains were large enough to shield the three speeders that appeared there. Seeing a short man jump out of one of them, they knew that they had company.